


Convenient Excuse

by RetroLizard



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 07:03:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4338587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RetroLizard/pseuds/RetroLizard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sousuke and Makoto go to the same school and share some of the same friends, but that's really all there is between them. But one night Makoto's been drinking too much and may have found himself in trouble, unless Sousuke's got something to say about it. The unexpected turn of events has brought them closer together, and maybe made them see that's exactly what they both wanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was a oneshot idea but I really like it as a "how they ended up together" kind of story and now I want to continue it...? So there should be more chapters but no idea when or how many. Sorry I'm in SouMako hell and I'm just making this shit up as I go along

It was pissing him off more than it had any right to. Every time he looked at them, he got a little angrier.

Sousuke had been invited to a party thrown by a classmate. There were a surprising number of people crammed in this little apartment, with a decent guy-to-girl ratio. It was late in the night and everyone was at various stages of inebriation, most of them too loud and annoying for Sousuke's tastes. He himself had only had a few beers and was basically completely sober. Makoto was a different story.

Sousuke didn't really know Makoto all that well. Yeah, they knew each other through Rin and had been at a fair share of swim events together, and there was that time the Iwatobi team came to Samezuka for the cultural festival last year. And yes, they ended up at the same college and were taking a class together. They even talked regularly and were on a pretty comfortable first-name basis, but that was it. He wasn't like Sousuke's close, personal friend or anything.

So why, _why_ was this pissing him off so bad?

There was another classmate of theirs, a guy named Kazu, sitting next to Makoto. He'd been glued to his side for the past hour, at least. Makoto seemed to be having a perfectly good time; the poor guy clearly didn't know his limits and had gone from zero to wasted in no time at all. Presently he looked like he could barely manage to sit up straight. He was happy, though, laughing at every other thing Kazu said, but from here Sousuke had no idea what was so damn funny.

And it pissed Sousuke off. The longer he witnessed it the more it made his blood start to boil. He concluded that it had to be because Kazu wasn't anywhere near as drunk as Makoto - tipsy, at most - and there was just something unsettling about him. He was paying too much attention to Makoto. He kept touching him. Playfully putting an arm around him. Sousuke actually felt himself cringe at the sight. He shook his head, taking a deep breath. He'd only stopped at this party to be polite, really, he never intended to stay this long, but now he couldn't bring himself to leave.

He barely knew Makoto. What right did he have to feel this way? So some asshole wants to flirt with him, what did that have anything to do with Sousuke? No...no, there was more to it than that. Sousuke trusted his gut instinct, and it told him something was up. Makoto was already this fucked up, and yet Kazu seemed to be encouraging him to drink more. The whole scene was giving Sousuke creepy vibes.

Kazu briefly made eye contact, and Sousuke looked away. _Shit._ He was being too obvious about staring. He tried to be a little more subtle about it, but he'd made up his mind he wasn't gonna leave until Kazu did, or at least until he stopped monopolizing Makoto. Occasionally people he knew would talk to him, and he'd humor them, but still keeping Makoto on the corner of his peripheral vision.

He paused only to use the bathroom, sighing deeply and rubbing his face once he'd shut the door behind him, giving him a quiet moment of reprieve from the noise outside. He gave himself a light slap on the cheek, mentally telling himself to keep it together. He couldn't let this get to him so much.

When he came out, his eyes darted back to where Makoto was sitting. Key word being 'was'. He glanced all around, not spotting him, nor Kazu, anywhere. He ran over to Yuuji, the guy who'd invited him. "Hey, what happened to Makoto and Kazu?"

"Oh, uhh, they just left, I think."

Sousuke cursed under his breath, bolting for the door. During the twenty or thirty seconds he'd gone to take a piss, they just happened to leave?! Kazu did this on purpose. He had to. Sousuke ran outside, looking around with only the light of streetlamps to try and spot them. Thankfully, they hadn't gotten far, and even if they had, Makoto's voice could probably be heard a mile away. He spotted two men walking on the sidewalk, one of them laughing and leaning drunkenly on the other's shoulder.

"Hey." At hearing Sousuke's voice, Kazu whipped his head around to see the taller man right behind him. Makoto turned too, and blinked a few times.

"Heeeyyy, it's Sousuke!! Kazu, look who it is!! You know Sousuke, right?!"

"Yeah, I know Sousuke," Kazu said slowly, looking him up and down. "You need something, man?"

Sousuke plastered a big, fake smile across his face, going to Makoto's other side and patting him on the back. "Just wanted to see what my buddy's up to, that's all! Where're you guys going?" Already, he could feel Kazu's hate-filled gaze boring a hole into his skull.

"Ohhh Sousuke, you should come with us!" Makoto said excitedly, slurring his speech. "We're going over to Kazu's place!"

"Is that right?" Sousuke asked, his calm exterior hiding his steadily increasing anger.

"Yeah, he invited me over to play video games, and--"

"That's awful nice of you Makoto, but the thing is I kinda only invited _you_ ," Kazu spat out, speaking much faster than he needed to. He extricated himself and Makoto away from Sousuke, continuing on their way. "Later."

"Well that's kinda _rude_ ," Sousuke grunted, roughly pulling Kazu by the arm to turn him around. Makoto stumbled away from them, staring at the two other men with a confused look on his face. Kazu grit his teeth, glaring daggers at Sousuke. "Is there some reason you don't want me to tag along?" Sousuke asked, timbre of his voice dangerous and low.

"Hey, how about minding your own fucking business?" Kazu sneered. "If Makoto wants to come with me, I fail to see what that's got to do with you."

"Don't you think he should go home?" Sousuke glanced in Makoto's direction; it seemed like even standing on his own two feet was proving a challenge. "He can barely walk right now."

"What, are you his mom or something?!"

Sousuke clicked his tongue, thoroughly fed up with this jerk. He was done arguing. His rage was going to boil over any second now if this sicko didn't get out of his sight. "We're leaving," he stated. Makoto looked helplessly back and forth between the two men, like he was trying to piece together what everyone was so angry about.

"Umm...Sousuke...?" he began innocently, and Sousuke had already gently taken him by the arm and started walking in the opposite direction.

"I'm taking you home," he said simply.

"Oh, so it's fine if he leaves with you?!" Sousuke ignored Kazu's shouts behind him, continuing on at a swift pace as if he didn't exist. "Hey, you listening to me? I'm talking to you, asshole!!" Kazu caught up to him, shamelessly shoving his back, and Sousuke snapped. The next instant, his fist collided with skin and bone and made a sickening sound ring in the night air.

Kazu reeled, holding his face where Sousuke struck him, letting out a grunt of pain. "Sonofa _bitch_!!" Fueled probably by only his pride, he came back starting to ready a punch of his own, and Sousuke grabbed the front of his shirt with both hands.

"Guys, come on! Don't fight!" Makoto protested, looking terribly distraught.

Sousuke pulled Kazu's face level with his own, hatred seething through his every syllable. "Do not _test_ me. Now get out of my sight." His imposing form loomed over Kazu, who wasn't exactly a small guy; but Sousuke was a lot bigger. And stronger. And Kazu wasn't _that_ stupid. He pulled away from Sousuke, spitting a mouthful of blood on the ground and muttering a string of unrepeatable, nasty curses as he turned on his heel and left.

"Woah. What, what was that all about?"" Makoto inquired softly.

"Don't worry about it," Sousuke sighed, and took Makoto's arm. "Need to lean on me? Here."

"But Sousuke, how come you hit Kazu?" He pressed, keeping pace with Sousuke with some difficulty. His feet didn't seem to want to coordinate with each other. Quickly forgetting about Kazu, Makoto asked another question. "Hey, where're we going?"

"I'm taking you home, remember?" Sousuke had to slow his steps so Makoto wouldn't trip as he tried to keep up.

"But you don't know where I liiiiive," Makoto drawled.

"Yes I do." Sousuke tried not to laugh. "Remember that group project we worked on together?"

After a severely delayed reaction, the memory seemed to click. "Oh yeah!" Just then one of his feet caught the other, and Sousuke was unable to hold on to him as he tumbled straight to the ground.

"Shit! You okay?" Makoto took a second to register he was laying in the street, and gave a loud snort before bursting out laughing. Sousuke shook his head and sighed while Makoto laughed his ass off and made no real attempt to get up. This was going to take all bloody night. "At least it doesn't hurt," Sousuke muttered.

"Hey, hey, don't laugh at me, awright?" Makoto said, sitting up clumsily. Never mind that he was the only one laughing. "I did it on purpose. Okay? I really did."

"Sure sure, I believe you," Sousuke sighed, and crouched down in front of him. He looked back over his shoulder at a puzzled Makoto. "Well go on, get on my back."

"Eeehhhh? Why?" He asked as he slumped himself over Sousuke's broad shoulders.

"I'm giving you a piggyback." Sousuke hooked his hands under Makoto's legs and grunted with the effort of standing up.

"Ooohhh. Sousuke, you're really stong!"

"Jeez, you're heavy...!!"

"Are you calling me FAT?"

Sousuke grimaced. That was louder than it needed to be. "Please don't shout next to my ear."

"Okay," Makoto said in a tiny whisper. "Sorry." He broke into another gigglefit; over what, Sousuke had no earthly idea.

\---

It had taken almost twice as long as it would've on his own, and he thought his arms were ready to give out pretty soon, but Sousuke did indeed make it to Makoto's building. And of course the elevator was out of service tonight. Of _course._

Trekking up the stairs with an incapacitated man nearly his own size didn't sound like fun, but hell, he'd made it this far. Makoto occasionally peppered him with inane questions or mumbled incoherently, but otherwise he seemed almost like he was starting to fall asleep.

"Doin' okay back there?" Sousuke grunted, making his way up the first slight of steps.

"Mmhmmm. Hey, how come, how come we didn't go over to Kazu's?" Makoto sounded disappointed. "I thought we were gonna play Smash Bros."

Sousuke scoffed - just the sound of that jerk's name made him furious. "He had better things to do."

"Sousuke-kun," Makoto said, and the unusual addition of -kun to his name caught the man's attention. "Will you play with me?"

A smile pulled at his lips, in spite of it all. "Not tonight, dude. Sorry."

Makoto whined liked a spoiled kid. "But I wanna play Smash!"

"I know," Sousuke sighed, every subsequent step up the flight making his burden feel a little heavier. "You need to sleep, though. Maybe tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah yeah, let's play tomorrow!" Makoto bounced slightly on his back, nearly making Sousuke drop him.

"C-careful!!"

"We're gonna play tomorrow? Promise?"

"Yes." Sousuke rolled his eyes. Was some deity trying to test his patience? "Tomorrow. I promise."

"Pinky swear it," Makoto held up a pinky finger. "Oh...your hands are full. Here." He found enough dexterity, somehow, to locate Sousuke's pinky finger under his leg and join it with his own. "Yay!" It was all Sousuke could do not to laugh. If his patience _was_ being tested, he was going to pass. Someone like Makoto was too cute to stay angry at. "I wanna be Sonic," Makoto declared.

"Sure, if you want." They'd made it to the third floor...almost there...

"I'm REALLY good with Sonic," Makoto said, muffled against Sousuke's back as he rested his face there. A moment later, he started humming, which then turned into a tune with "nuh-nuh-nuh"s. Sousuke listened carefully, trying to decide what song that was supposed to be. It was disjointed and awkward, but...he was reasonably sure it had something to do with Sonic the Hedgehog.

Finally, _finally_ they made it to Makoto's front door. The drunken young man somehow found the fortitude to fish his keys from his pocket and even get the key in the lock. It was dark inside, and Sousuke couldn't seem to find the lightswitch...nor could he have flipped it anyway, with both arms still carrying Makoto. But there was enough street light filtering through the window to find Makoto's bed. "Okay, I'm gonna put you down, ready?"

His attempt to set him down gently was for nothing as Makoto opted instead to flop down full force onto his mattress and giggle when he bounced. Sousuke groaned and stretched out his poor, abused muscles. Carrying this guy all the way here had really taken its toll. Makoto was already making himself comfortable and curling up on the bed. "You should at least take your shoes off." Of course, untying shoes was a little much for Makoto right now, so Sousuke grabbed his feet to take them off for him.

 _All right, so with that taken care of...water._ Sousuke went for the kitchen and looked through a few cabinets until he found glasses. Even if Makoto didn't want it now, by the time he woke up he'd be dying of thirst so Sousuke could at least do this for him. He filled the glass up and took it back to Makoto, putting it on the little table next to his bed. "Makoto, I got you some wa--" Sousuke did a double take. Makoto had evidently gotten tired of his jeans, and was trying to worm his way out of them, but they'd gotten somewhat stuck about halfway down his legs. "Uhhh...hmm..."

Not much he could do, was there? Since he'd already gotten started, Sousuke gave him a hand getting the offending garment off all the way, doing his best to avert his eyes. "Hey. Heeeeyy. Tell the room to stop spinning," Makoto whined.

"Tell it yourself," Sousuke muttered. He glanced around the room and spotted what he was hoping to see: a small trashcan. He moved it over next to Makoto's bed. "Hey, I'm putting this here in case you gotta throw up, alright?"

"Where's Kaoru?" Makoto ignored Sousuke, looking around and pouting. "I wanna cuddle Kaoru..."

"K...Kaoru??" Wondering who the hell he could mean, Sousuke looked around and saw a large black-and-white something on the floor. It looked like it was on the bed until Makoto accidentally kicked it off. Picking it up, it was...an oversized plush orca whale. "Is...is this Kaoru?"

"Kaoru!" Makoto reached out for him excitedly, taking his stuffed toy and squeezing it tightly. Sousuke didn't recall seeing that thing the last time he was here...maybe Makoto kept it hidden when he was expecting company.

"Oh, I see... _Kaoru_." Even the toy's name was a pun. Sousuke chuckled. "Makoto, you're too much."

"I'm too much what? Are you calling me fat again?" Makoto's voice got unnecessarily loud as he asked the question.

"Hey, quit shouting! It's late and you have neighbors, okay?"

"Okaaaay."

"Shhh." Sousuke put his finger to his lips. Makoto copied him.

" _Shhhhhh_."

"Makoto, did you hear me about the trash can? I put it next to your bed in case you gotta throw up later."

"Mmhmm," Makoto snuggled into Kaoru and closed his eyes, happy as a clam. "I gotcha."

"Okay." Sousuke sighed. Boy, he hadn't planned on all this tonight when he agreed to stop by Yuuji's party, that was for damn sure. It dawned on him, though, how lucky it was that he ended up going. He looked at Makoto, still red-faced, hair disheveled. The alcohol had rendered him pretty ineffectual. If he'd gone along with Kazu...Sousuke shuddered. He didn't want to think about that. He just thanked god that he'd been in the right place at the right time.

Sousuke smiled. _You're too good a guy, Makoto,_ he thought. _Try not to be so trusting of people...they aren't all as pure-hearted as you._

"Well...I'm leaving, then. Good night." The only reply he got was incohrent mumbling. Sousuke hoped he'd sleep well. He deserved it.

\---

When Sousuke came back the next day, the elevator was still out of order, of course. But at least this time as he scaled the stairs to Makoto's floor, he only carried a bag in his hand instead of a drunk guy on his back. It was almost noon - hopefully he'd be awake by now.

Sousuke knocked on the door and instantly could hear shuffling inside. "Ah-- just a second!" the voice inside called, and Sousuke was sure he caught a sort of pained groan. Makoto's face appeared a few seconds later; eyes looking tired, and skin a few shades too pale, but he looked pretty good. "Oh...Hi, Sousuke!" Makoto was surprised. He opened the door wider. "You, uh, you wanna come in? It's kinda messy right now," he mumbled apologetically.

"Sure," Sousuke said as he stepped in. "Thanks." Makoto shut the door behind him and hurriedly shoved some junk off of a chair so Sousuke could sit. He'd changed clothes at some point, thankfully, and had one more pair of pants on than when Sousuke last saw him.

"So, er, did you have a good time? At the party yesterday, I mean," Makoto asked, sitting on his bed. Kaoru was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the hesitation before answering the door had been partially to hide him away. Sousuke couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Good time?" Sousuke repeated. Well, to say yes to that he'd have to lie. "It was alright," he sighed eventually. Something was amiss, so he figured he should just ask outright. "You...you don't remember, do you?"

Makoto's eyes went wide. Sousuke supposed the way he phrased that was a bit alarming. "No, I...I actually don't remember much at all," Makoto admitted bashfully. "Just bits and pieces..."

Sousuke leaned his chin on his hand. "You must be feeling pretty lousy, hm?"

Makoto gave a weak laugh. "Kinda...I have a headache, but other than that..." He rubbed at the back of his neck, probably feeling foolish. Sousuke would bet every swimming trophy that it was his first hangover. He glanced at the empty space next to Makoto's bed, and gestured to it with a nod.

"Trash can come in handy, did it?" he asked. It wasn't there anymore, so safe to assume it'd been used. Makoto glanced down where it had been, then up at Sousuke, and his cheeks started to flush red.

"Oh!! Um...y-yeah, haha!" Sousuke didn't know if he should feel bad for making him flustered or not. He was pretty cute when embarrassed. "So, does that mean that," Makoto pointed at Sousuke. "You..."

"Carried you home on my back?" Sousuke grinned. "Yup."

"...Huh?!" Makoto's mouth fell open. "D-did you really?!"

"Well, yeah, since you couldn't even stand up on your own," Sousuke said. "I wasn't about to leave you lying there in the street."

" _Lying in--?!!_ " Makoto adorably put a hand over his mouth, looking downright mortified. "Oh gosh...I'm, I'm really sorry," he stammered. "You went to so much trouble because of me......" He looked at his hands, twiddling nervously with his thumbs. "Ahh man, I feel so dumb..."

"Oh no, don't feel bad," Sousuke said with a shake of his head. He felt a slight twinge in his shoulder; it had been bothering him since last night, but he wouldn't trouble Makoto with that knowledge. "Really, don't worry about it. I'm just...I'm glad you're okay." He thought about the dangers he'd helped Makoto avoid, and didn't feel the need to fill him in with every unpleasant detail. He gazed down at nothing in particular, a warm smile on his face. "All that matters is you made it home safely...right?"

"Y-yeah..." Makoto's voice became very soft, and he hesitated. "Thank you. Thank you very much." Sousuke only nodded and 'hmm'ed. A slightly awkward silence followed, and Sousuke had the perfect way to break it.

"Well, since I figured you'd be feeling like shit," he said, and held up the paper bag in his hand, "I thought I could at least bring you this." He handed it over and Makoto took it curiously, the paper crinkling as he opened it and peered inside.

"Fast food?"

"It might sound weird, but just trust me," Sousuke said. "Some nice, greasy food will make you feel a million times better."

"Ahhh, that does smell good..." Makoto looked delighted. "Thank you!"

Sousuke scolded his own heart for skipping a beat just now. Makoto had one of those smiles that seemed like it could make flowers grow. "Think nothing of it," he muttered.

"Hey, it's not really any of my business," Makoto began, "so you don't have to tell me if you don't want to...but can I ask you about something?"

"...Yeah, go ahead."

"What happened with you and Kazu?" Sousuke went tense as Makoto posed the question innocently. "I got this text from Yuuji, and...apparently, Kazu's face is busted up and he said you were responsible but he won't tell anyone why..."

...Shit.

Sousuke grimaced a little, and Makoto instantly became apologetic. "Like I said, since it's not my business you don't have to tell me! And plus, I don't even know if it's true, so..."

"Nah, it's..." Sousuke frantically tried to think for a cover story. There wasn't really any way he could lie his way around this. Fuck, he didn't think this through earlier. With a defeated sigh, he decided he'd just have to tell the truth. "Yeah, I did. I hit Kazu."

Makoto tilted his head a little, concern in his eyes. "Is everything okay?"

Sousuke exhaled through his nose and leaned forward, wringing his hands together. He stared at a random spot on Makoto's wall, feeling his blood heat up. He'd have preferred Makoto didn't have to find out, and for forcing him to tell, Sousuke hated Kazu that much more. "Everything's fine," Sousuke finally said. "But my advice to you...and it's only advice, of course...is for you not to spend too much time around him, if you can avoid it."

Makoto looked taken aback, but said nothing, only stared at Sousuke looking confused. Sousuke's dark eyes moved up to meet Makoto's. "You were really fucked up last night, Makoto. By the time you left you couldn't even walk on your own." Well, that much seemed obvious. "Thing is, at first you left with Kazu."

"I did?"

"Mmhmm. He was almost completely sober and had been paying a lot of attention to you all night. " Sousuke worried the knuckles on his right hand, which were still sore. This was the part he didn't like to admit out loud. "It just made me...it didn't sit right. I thought it was weird, so just after you left I kinda confronted him."

Makoto stayed perfectly silent, listening for the rest of Sousuke's explanation. "When I did, he seemed very insistent upon being alone with you," he continued, his voice gradually reaching a lower volume. "And he got angry at me for interfering, and things just sorta escalated. And I punched him."

He looked to Makoto, and could see the gears slowly turning in the other man's head. It didn't seem easy for him to process. It wouldn't be easy for a lot of people to process, he supposed. "Oh...Oh, I see," he finally stammered. "Wow...that's...." Suddenly Makoto let out a huge breath, and raked his fingers through his own hair. "Damn."

"Yeah. I wish it hadn't gotten violent, but honestly," Sousuke said, "he didn't really leave me much choice. He was...insanely persistent."

Makoto gulped, and touched his own chest as if his heart were beating too fast. "I can't believe it," he said quietly.

Sousuke felt his bitterness toward that despicable piece of human garbage fester, and tried his best not to think about it. Instead, he focused on how relieved he was. Makoto was fine. He was fine. That was what mattered in the end. He meant it when he said he wished it didn't come to violence, as he took no pleasure in doing what he'd done (okay, maybe just a tiny bit). But, regardless, rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand, he didn't say aloud that he'd do it again in a heartbeat if he had to.

"Sousuke," Makoto said softly. "I don't even know what to say. I don't know how I can repay you for all the trouble you've gone through for me."

"It's really nothing," Sousuke insisted. He met Makoto's gaze and smiled. "Just glad I could help." Makoto quickly looked away, his features turning pink again, and mumbled a little like he was trying to come up with something to say, but couldn't.

Another silence. This time, Makoto decided to break it. "So, uh...any other embarrassing things I did that I should know about?" he joked, forcing a laugh at his own expense.

"Oh, you weren't so bad, other than falling down a lot," Sousuke said, reclining and looking up in thought. "Wait...ah, right. You really, _really_ wanted to play Smash."

"I did?"

"Yup. And you bragged how great you are with Sonic, and I think you started humming his theme song or something." Makoto laughed, a real full, hearty laugh that ended with a little snort. "I felt bad for you," Sousuke said. "You were so insistent about it, you made me promise I'd come back and play with you today." He held up a pinky finger. "You made me pinky-swear."

"Oh wow," Makoto looked equal parts embarrassed at himself, and amused. "Drunk me sounds like a dork."

"Just a little," Sousuke teased. At least he'd gotten Makoto to laugh. "Well, I should get going," he said as he stood up. "I'm sure you've still got some hangover to sleep off."

"Oh...okay." Makoto quickly stood up as well, following Sousuke to the door.

"Feel better, alright?"

"Hehe. I'll try." Sousuke was almost out the door when Makoto's voice stopped him. "Sousuke?"

"Mm?"

"Seriously, thank you. For everything."

Sousuke nodded. "Any time." He chuckled suddenly, and Makoto looked surprised. "Be sure to bring me along next time you go drinking. I promise, I won't get into another fistfight," he added with a little barely-noticeable wink, and acting on impulse, reached out and patted Makoto's soft head of hair. The shorter of the two blushed, but didn't appear to object to the gesture. "Guess I'll see you in class tomorrow," Sousuke said.

"Yeah..." Makoto watched Sousuke turn and start to walk away, and suddenly blurted out, "Unless!" Sousuke gave him a quizzical look. Makoto didn't seem able to look him right in the face, and fidgeted a little. "Unless you...uh..." His voice grew so quiet Sousuke could barely hear. "...wanna come back later today."

There went Sousuke's troublesome heart, skipping beats again. Though his exterior remained as cool and stony as ever, his insides were freaking out on him. He wasn't misinterpreting this, right? Inexperienced with dating as he was, he wasn't an idiot. A guy blushing and fidgeting and shyly asking you to come over didn't exactly say "platonic", did it?

Sousuke beamed at him. "I _did_ promise I'd play Smash with you, didn't I?"

An air of relief sweeping over him, Makoto beamed back. "That's right." He held up his little finger. "Pinky-swore and everything."

And there was that smile again, the one Sousuke had no power to say no to, even if he'd wanted to say no in the first place. Sousuke laughed. "Alright, Tachibana, I guess you leave me no choice." He slowly walked away, shooting a last glance back over his shoulder. "See you later, then."

"Okay, seeya!" Makoto called out, and Sousuke acknowledged with a wave of his hand. Once fully out of sight and earshot, Sousuke let out a deep breath. Unlike Makoto, he didn't wear his feelings on his sleeve. Keeping that cool exterior had always been effortless for him. However, if he was really going to come back tonight, it was gonna be a problem if his heart was gonna keep racing like this. He'd have to do something about that.


	2. Chapter 2

_I like being here more than being at home._ It popped into Sousuke's head, taking him by surprise. But the longer he turned it over in his mind, the more he realized it was true. Makoto's apartment was only comfortably messy as he sat leisurely by the table and popped a cookie in his mouth. It was the kind that weren't all that sweet, more buttery than anything. And not real crunchy, or real crumbly. It was good. _Even the snacks here are better._

As Makoto busied himself in the kitchen, the afternoon's tangerine-hued rays filtered through an open window, bringing in a vaguely summerish vibe with them. It _was_ going to be summer soon, wasn't it? Sousuke glared down at the notes and assignments on the table next to the snacks. He didn't need the weather to tell him summer was approaching. Looming exams he was nowhere near prepared for told him as much.

His pretense for being here today, if he needed one, was a study session. Makoto eagerly offered to help him with the subjects he didn't feel strong in. After what had happened, he still felt indebted to Sousuke, despite repeated reassurance that no payback was expected. He said he wanted to help any way he could. Sousuke really didn't see that it was necessary, at least not to think of it as repayment, but he'd resigned himself to let Makoto have his way.

He'd have come over to study even if that weren't the case.

He'd have come over even if there were nothing to study.

Glancing at his own dark reflection in the TV screen, his mind went back to that night he came over to play Smash. It was a fun night, he thought with a slightly nostalgic warmth. Even if nothing had happened. Wait, maybe that wasn't fair, to say "nothing" happened. Plenty happened. They spent hours together and talked about all kinds of things. Sousuke wasn't sure what he'd expected, and it was probably more accurate to say he didn't expect anything. That day stoked the bond between them and it'd been burning slowly and steadily ever since.

Makoto finally came out of the kitchen, carrying with him two cups of tea. "Heh...sorry that took so long," Makoto sighed, and sat across from Sousuke, putting his tea in front of him.

"No worries," Sousuke said reflexively. Makoto was already leaning on his elbows, peering over at Sousuke's papers.

"So, what did you wanna start with first?" he asked. Sousuke hummed lightly as he considered how to answer. What indeed, what indeed. Leaning his chin into his hand, he noted the line of Makoto's gaze, green eyes glued to the table's surface, then noticed a stray tuft of hair tucked curiously behind Makoto's ear. He became inexplicably distracted by that tuft, and the pale shell of that ear, for so long he forgot he'd been asked a question. "Sousuke?"

Snapped back to reality, Sousuke jumped a little, then gave a wry smile. "No idea."

"Mind if I take a look?" Makoto reached tentatively for the stack until Sousuke gave him a little nod. He began to leaf slowly through them, making a face at the first few pages. "I'd help with Chinese if I had the slightest idea how."

"Yeah, guess I'm on my own there," Sousuke remarked. "What about math?"

Makoto hummed and nodded, still flipping through the loose sheets one after another. "Oh, are these your math notes, here?" As his eyes raked down the page, Sousuke watched Makoto's facial expression slowly transform, his eyebrows drawing together. It was somewhere between confusion and disappointment, if Sousuke had to put a name to it. Rather than feel offended, he wanted to laugh.

"They're that bad, huh?"

"Eh? Oh, no no no!" Makoto rapidly shook his head, waving his hands to emphasize 'no'. "Th-that isn't, umm..."

"It's fine," Sousuke stopped him. He might have put Makoto on the spot there. Sliding the notes toward himself to give them a once-over, even _he_ wasn't sure what the barely-legible mess of scribbles and drawings were supposed to mean. They made much more sense at the time, he told himself. "My handwriting's...less than perfect."

Makoto chuckled. "Well, umm...if _you_ understand it, that's what counts, right?" He asked, clearly looking for something to say that wouldn't sound like criticism.

"That's true," Sousuke mumbled, not letting on how he was struggling to make sense of it as they spoke. Makoto had already moved on, it seemed, and was analyzing an old homework assignment peppered with the red ink of the teacher's corrections. There weren't _that_ many mistakes; just enough to flare up Sousuke's self-consciousness and make him wonder if agreeing to this was a bad idea. Maybe he had some other character flaws they could discuss while they were at it? Like his poor sense of direction?

"Mmm, I'm not fantastic at math, but I think I can help you out," Makoto said cheerily after a moment. "Like see, this one here..." He leaned forward again, pointing to one of the answers Sousuke'd gotten wrong. "You almost had it, but if you just have _this_ formula memorized, you should be fine," he said. He pulled the cap off of a pen and started to scrawl it down next to the problem while Sousuke watched intently. "This is the kind of thing I imagine you'll need on the final exam."

Sousuke gave a long, quiet "ohhh" as Makoto finished. His eyebrows raised, he looked genuinely impressed, then glanced up to Makoto with a smile. "Your handwriting's nice. You should be a teacher." He made Makoto giggle.

"Nah, it's really not special," he insisted. Makoto was entirely too nice, Sousuke thought. He continued to listen and nod along as Makoto gave more explanations, but in the back of his mind, he was wondering: was Makoto always so polite? Was it only with him that he was like this?

Strangely enough, he found himself wishing Makoto would be _not_ so nice. He wouldn't even mind if Makoto called him an idiot, or told him to shut up once. He could hardly imagine it. It was pretty weird, he realized, to think like this, but he felt that once Makoto could tease him, it would mean they became closer. That must have been why. He wanted to be closer to Makoto, in some way, in any way. Even if they just became better friends, Sousuke would be happy with that.

Inexperienced with love as Sousuke was, he didn't think his hunch was wrong that Makoto's feelings were more than just friendly. As to why he hadn't made a move yet, Sousuke couldn't say. Maybe he was just nervous, or shy. That was understandable enough; Sousuke wasn't even sure he grasped his own feelings, so he could relate. He wasn't about to rush anything, espcially at the risk of making Makoto uncomfortable. Nothing could be worse than that.

"I didn't lose you, did I?" Makoto asked. Sousuke looked up abruptly. He had been listening, though maybe with only 75% of this attention span.

"No," he said. "Yeah, I see what you're saying."

Makoto smiled. "Good! Sometimes I get a little ahead of myself," he said, "So just tell me if I stop making sense." His sincerity stirred a kind of warmth in Sousuke's heart. He really was a good guy. For now, Sousuke felt sated enough just being around him.

The two of them went over math stuff for a while longer, before moving on to other subjects. Sousuke made sure to listen well anytime Makoto explained something - if Makoto was so bent on helping Sousuke, it was the least he could do to pay attention. His eyes and his thoughts did begin to wander, though. He noted the sun was starting to set in earnest. Had so much time flown by already?

Makoto might have been thinking something similar, as he yawned audibly and reached for his tea. The sudden clunk of ceramic on wood didn't really grab Sousuke's attention. The splash of tea that soaked his midriff, though, did. He jumped slightly, and Makoto gasped. "Oh no!! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!!"

"It's fine," Sousuke assured him quickly. "It wasn't hot anymore, it's fine." And that was true, as the tea had cooled to less than room temperature by now. Makoto had already bolted for the kitchen and returned with a small towel.

"Still, I'm really sorry," he muttered, quickly cleaning up the pool of tea from the table that continued to drip steadily. Thankfully it hadn't gotten all over anyone's homework. For a fraction of a second he looked like he was going to move on to trying to dry Sousuke, but stopped himself and merely handed the towel over to him. "Ahh, darn it...your shirt is soaked," he sighed dejectedly. He did not look pleased with himself.

"Don't worry about it," Sousuke tried again to get him not to beat himself up. Although his shirt was pretty soaked through, even after he squeezed out what he could of the tepid tea. It was then Makoto got abruptly to his feet.

"You can borrow one of my shirts!" He announced, and made a beeline for the closet. Sousuke opened his mouth to refuse the offer, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to. Makoto spent a moment rummaging around, trying to decide which shirt would suit his purposes. From the look on his face, it was an important decision. While he busied himself with that, Sousuke stood up to get the wet shirt off.

A thought flashed through his mind and he paused. It was very peculiar how Makoto happened to spill tea and now here he was, about to remove a piece of clothing. Very peculiar. This coincidence amused him, and he wondered if maybe Makoto...no. No, of course not. Makoto simply wasn't capable of such a scheme. It was an honest mistake. Pushing the idea away, Sousuke lifted up his shirt just as Makoto turned around with a new one in hand.

They traded, and Sousuke held it up to look at it. A simple grey polo with a single blue stripe across the chest. Strangely, it didn't strike Sousuke as something Makoto would normally wear. Feeling a gaze upon him, he glanced over at Makoto, who looked away just as he made eye contact. Sousuke did his damndest not to smile. What _ever_ reason could good, sweet Makoto have to stare at the naked upper body of a man he'd seen in a swimsuit multiple times before? How very, very curious.

Makoto looked at the t-shirt in his hand, making a concerned face at the tea splotch. "I'll wash it for you. I'm pretty sure it won't stain." He looked to Sousuke, eyes flickering up and down. "Sorry again about that..."

Sousuke shrugged. "No worries. Not like I'm gonna hold it against you." Makoto's eyes went wide, staring at Sousuke.

"Eh...huh??" Sousuke wanted to laugh out loud at the bewilderment on the other's face, but wasted no more time and slipped the new shirt on. He had to tug the bottom a little; it wasn't quite his size. "Oh...oh!" Makoto at last seemed to click back to functional. "R-right, haha! So, uh, does it fit okay?"

It wasn't comically undersized or anything, but it was a fairly tight fit. It would suffice perfectly fine for now, though. "Yeah, it'll work," Sousuke said. "Just a little snug."

Makoto chuckled. "That's not a problem I usually have lending clothes to my friends," he said.

Sousuke laughed as well. "Like who? Nanase?"

Makoto looked a little surprised, only for a beat. "Yeah," he said. "But you know, not surprising, he's kinda skinny." The shirt still in hand, Makoto went for the front door. "The laundry machines are down the hall, so...I'll be right back, okay?" With that he left Sousuke alone.

He sighed heavily, and stared at nothing in silence. What exactly had made him bring up Haru? The man's name had entered conversation exactly twice since he'd started talking to Makoto. The first time, he'd merely been curious why Haru was never around, and subsequently learned this was a busy time of year for things like training camps and tournament prelims, hence both Rin and Haru had to be on the road a lot. The kind of thing Sousuke would already know if he'd pursued professional swimming, he thought with an uncanny twinge in his shoulder.

There was an unshakable awkward feeling around Haru's name. Makoto had to feel it too, as he never mentioned him at all, despite telling anecdotes about people like Rin, Rei and Nagisa with fair frequency. Sousuke had done nothing wrong here, he was sure of that. It was plain as day, an elephant in the room: Haru not being around meant Makoto was alone more, which meant more time for Sousuke to get to know him better. Was Sousuke supposed to kid himself into thinking he wasn't happy about that? Was he supposed to pretend as if he _liked_ Nanase? He never had, and more than likely never would. A simple fact; not his fault.

Deciding not to dwell on it, he sat back down and deliberately pushed Haru from his mind. He looked around Makoto's room, and noticed Makoto had left the closet open. Its contents were a mess, unlike the rest of the apartment - random objects and clothes all piled and shoved on top of one another. Sousuke spotted something familiar on top of the mountain of junk: from here, he could just make out a large, black, plush tail. Sousuke beamed. Of course, Kaoru had been returned to his hiding place.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Makoto said as he came back in, quickly shutting the door behind him. "If it's not done before you leave tonight, I can get it back to you tomorrow."

"Thanks." Sousuke smiled up at him. He'd have to pretend he didn't notice Kaoru, since he wasn't supposed to know about him.

...Or, maybe he didn't have to pretend.

Makoto picked up the now-empty teacup from the table and hummed. "I should make some more tea. Do you want some more too?"

"Sure," Sousuke said. "But hey, I was just wondering..." Makoto looked at him expectantly, and Sousuke made an effort not to smile and give himself away. He was feeling a little extra fiendish today. Hopefully Makoto could forgive him, the temptation was just too much. He nodded towards the open closet. "What's that?"

Makoto's eyes darted back and forth between Sousuke and the closet, a sudden panic evident on his face. "H-huh?"

"That uh, that big black thing," Sousuke said nonchalantly. "What is that?" He was already pretty sure he was going to hell for this.

There was a long pause, in which Makoto was stiff as wood. "...Oh. That's..."

Every second that passed, it was getting more difficult not to laugh.

Eventually Makoto cleared his throat and went over to the closet. He couldn't just close it and try to pretend it was nothing, could he? "O-okay...I'll show you, but..." Makoto gave Sousuke a deadly serious look. "You gotta promise you won't tell anyone about it, okay?"

Oh, so he was gonna let him in on the secret, then? Sousuke felt a little honored. He nodded quickly. "Yeah, of course. I promise." Makoto sighed, then with a steely resolve, reached in and pulled out his big secret. Damn, he was pretty serious about this. He revealed the enormous plush to Sousuke without explanation. "Ohh," Sousuke said, acting like he was seeing it for the first time. "Where'd you get that?"

"Before I left home, I went to the aquarium with my family," Makoto said, hands idly playing with the stuffed fins as he spoke. "Got it at the gift shop. I was just gonna leave it for my little brother and sister, but they convinced me to take him with me." Makoto stared at the floor, his cheeks turning just a little pink. Damn it, now that he had a backstory for it, the whole thing was even cuter. Sousuke could just _die._

"D'you always keep him in the closet, or do you sleep with him sometimes?" Sousuke asked.

"Well, I--" Makoto stopped abruptly and searched Sousuke's face. Oh no. Had he been caught? "Why do you ask?"

Sousuke's facade cracked. A smile broke through, and he chewed his lip as he tried to suppress it. Screw it, the jig was up. "I saw him when I brought you home," he admitted.

Makoto's jaw dropped, and he'd gone beet red. "SOUSUKE!!" Without warning, he started wailing on Sousuke with Kaoru, and Sousuke burst into laughter as he tried to block against the blows.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!! I couldn't help myself!!"

"You should have said so!!" Makoto whined, striking Sousuke over the head with his orca again and again. "I just!! Can't!! Believe!!"

"Oh come on, it's not that big a deal!" Sousuke defended himself and tried to evade the constant attacks. "So what if you're a grown man who sleeps with a stuffed animal? I think it's kinda sweet!"

At last Makoto paused, huffing and puffing before going into defense mode. "It's just like a body pillow, okay?! It's easier to sleep when I have something to hold onto! That's all it is!"

Sousuke hummed and nodded. "Right, right, I understand."

"Tons of people like to sleep with body pillows. It's normal."

"Yes, tons of people!" Sousuke grinned. "Do they give their pillows names, too?"

Makoto's eyes went wide, and the next instant he was beating Sousuke with his "body pillow" more fiercely than ever. "Stop!! Talking!! You!! Are!! Such!! A!! Jerk!!"

Sousuke stood up, trying to offer apologies through his laughter, and forcibly stopped Makoto's beating by grabbing hold of his arms. A light struggle ensued, but Sousuke used his size to his advantage and wrestled Kaoru away from the hilariously flustered Makoto and held him up overhead, just barely out of Makoto's reach. "Give it back!"

"I will, if you say you won't hit me with him anymore!" He stood on tip-toe to keep Kaoru out of Makoto's grasp while the shorter man hopped up and down, trying to snatch him away. He chuckled, endlessly amused with Makoto's antics. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun. Maybe that was part of the reason why, but an impulse struck him and he acted on it. With their faces only inches apart, Sousuke leaned forward and planted a kiss on Makoto's lips.

It stopped him, very effectively. Makoto went silent for a few seconds, staring at Sousuke, then gave up on getting Kaoru back and suddenly turned his attention to the table. "That's right, I was gonna make more tea," he muttered. "I'll get right on that." He grabbed both the cups and scurried from the room, leaving Sousuke alone.

Well, shit. Even Sousuke wasn't sure what just happened. He looked at the orca in his hands, checking to make sure there was no damage or loose seams. Still looked brand new. He gently placed Kaoru on Makoto's bed, sighed gently and sat by the table again, looking at the assignment that had been sitting in front of him. He'd long since forgotten what he was doing before all these... _shenanigans_ took place.

He hadn't planned on doing such a thing. He really, honestly hadn't. It was just a sudden urge he got. He didn't mean to scare Makoto off, for crying out loud.

Moments later, Makoto came back in, put down the new cups of tea and sat in his original spot. "Okay, so, where were we? I totally lost my train of thought," Makoto said. He was pretty good at acting like nothing had happened. Sousuke couldn't, though. He had to at least apologize or something.

"I'm sorry," he said, and Makoto finally looked at him again. "Should I not have done that?"

Makoto hesitated, then gave a shy smile and a little shake of his head. "No, it's not that you shouldn't have." His voice was terribly soft. "I'm sorry...it's, uh, you didn't do anything wrong," he explained. Sousuke noticed he was fidgeting a little. His eyes were trying to get distracted by something, anything. "I think I just...wasn't expecting it."

Sousuke had seen Makoto like this before, once or twice. Relief flooded his chest. Maybe he hadn't screwed up after all. No, Makoto was just as - or almost as - awkward as Sousuke was, that was probably it. Sousuke hummed and nodded, his expression characteristically unreadable. "Okay. Then, I'll try to give you a little warning next time."

Makoto almost laughed. "Next time?" Sousuke nodded again, smiling as he noticed the color staining Makoto's cheeks. It was really something, being around somebody whose heart was always on his sleeve, like Makoto's was. He liked it.

He slowly shifted his position on the floor, moving incrementally closer to Makoto. Just one inch or two at a time, making sure Makoto was watching. This was good enough warning, right?

Makoto remained perfectly still, watching Sousuke with bated breath. Sousuke didn't stop until his leg was flush against Makoto's, and slowly leaned closer to him. Makoto still hadn't moved, just staring at Sousuke intently. Sousuke waited until the very last second to close his eyes. Finally he felt Makoto move, lean forward just a little bit, closing the last 2% of distance between them. He felt lips on his own.

The handful of kisses Sousuke'd had before were mostly goodbye kisses, marking the ends of dates that felt as rote and unnecessary as the kisses themselves. They weren't magical or exciting, they just kind of were. Sousuke hadn't kissed like this, he didn't know kisses _could_ feel like this. But then, he'd only had one other crush before, and it had never progressed beyond silent pining. That right there was the key difference. This realization would come later, though. At this moment, Sousuke's head was empty of anything resembling a thought.

Makoto returned the light pressure on his lips, and after a few seconds broke contact only to replace it anew. Makoto's mouth was ridiculously soft. Sousuke could hear the light pecking sound of their lips each time they touched, loud and clear to his ears in the otherwise dead silent space. A second later he could hear Makoto's quick intake of breath. It sounded so intensely intimate, Sousuke thought his heart would pound straight through his chest. His hand felt like it needed to be doing something, and it somehow ended up on Makoto's thigh, a few inches above his knee.

Makoto's body was warm. His face was warm. It seeped through his skin and into Sousuke's. They'd been kissing now for longer than Sousuke originally intended. He wanted to get this right, and that was strange, wanting to do it "right". He'd never given it that level of thought before, but this was Makoto he was dealing with here. He couldn't do it too hard or too soft, he couldn't be too aggressive nor could he seem apathetic. He thought - and hoped - he'd struck the right balance, and as if to reassure him, he heard Makoto sigh very softly. There was a rush moving towards his brain, and it made Sousuke light-headed, until he realized he should probably stop to breathe.

Finally breaking away, he hesitated half a beat before he opened his eyes. Though short of breath, he forced himself not to breathe too hard or too loud. How was he so tense? Could Makoto tell he was tense? Sousuke could almost hear his own blood pumping. Makoto was considering him with a steady gaze, and then to Sousuke's delight, a smile. "Next time, you, uhh," he said quietly after a moment, "you don't have to warn me...unless you really want to."

Sousuke nodded. "Mmm. I'll remember that." At that, Makoto giggled. When he shifted his weight a bit, the rub of denim reminded Sousuke his hand was still resting on Makoto's thigh. He withdrew it instantaneously, awkwardly moving away from Makoto and trying to make it seem coincidental. Sousuke hadn't been so aware of, or obsessed with, his own body language in...ever, actually.

With a content sigh, he folded his elbows on the table in front of him, resting his head there while looking up at Makoto. "I don't know about you, but I think I might be all studied out tonight," he said.

"I think I might be, too." Leaning his chin on one hand and tilting his head, Makoto hummed and looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "I'm also hungry."

The moment he thought about food, Sousuke realized he was famished. "Me too, now that you mention it," he said. "Wanna go out for something?"

Makoto perked right up at the prospect. "Really?"

"Yeah, why not?" Sousuke stood up, offering a hand to help Makoto to his feet. "I'll even treat you."

"Ahh, you don't need to do that," Makoto said sheepishly, taking Sousuke's hand as he got up.

They grabbed their wallets and put on their shoes, throwing back and forth ideas about where they should go. Ultimately they agreed that the curry house down the street sounded particularly good right now. Just before they departed, Sousuke spared a last glance at the mess of papers and things they'd left on the table and hadn't bothered to clean up. Nothing that couldn't wait. After all, a beautiful almost-summer evening, to be spent eating curry with Makoto, awaited him.

 


End file.
